Even though the sister of the El Paso man beaten by six thugs outside of a gay bar says that the 22-year-old is not gay, she still asserts that his beating is indeed a hate crime:
So far police say they have no evidence to call the attack a hate crime. [The victim’s sister Deanne] Martinez calls that ridiculous. She says her brother isn’t gay but he was alone outside of a gay club and the men who attacked him made it clear why they picked him. Martinez said, “they were yelling gay slurs and yelling their gang name or where they’re from.”
Just goes to show that homophobia hurts gay and straight people. But even more disconcerting is that the El Paso Police Gang Unit says the Texas border city has 539 gangs with over 5,665 members. Though not all the gangs commit violence, finding Martinez’s perpetrators depends on the testimony of his sister, his sister’s friend who tried to intervene with her jeep, and him should he ever wake up from his injuries.
Cam
I love how the police say there is no evidence to call it a hate crime, even though the sisters statement about the attack would already be in evidence. So is the fact that the police are claiming that a cover up or a misguided attempt to try to avoid saying too much?
TommyOC
@Cam: Crimes investigated as Hate Crimes are registered in the FBI’s index. It looks *really* bad against your city’s rep to have that number higher than, say, zero.
It’s no wonder city police chiefs go through amazing lengths to *not* place that label on crimes they’re investigating.
Jurlesia
I’d like to know what the El Paso Police Dept considers evidence of a hate crime if not the testimony of the two witnesses? The incompetence of the El Paso PD is an embarassment to our justice system. Much sympathy to Martinez’s family.
lookyloo
I’d like to point out that, for whatever their reason, El Paso gang members like hanging out near gay bars… and apparently like to have physical contact with (including the bodily fluids of) gay men.
bobz
Oh, please, just because a man says he’s “str8” doesn’t make him str8. Maybe still closeted but probably not str8. You know how many “str8” dudes hit the bathhouses, parks, woods, lakes, bars, MSM/M4M websites, and other GAY sex cruising locales?
OMG, the 22-year old mans sister says he’s str8???
How the heck would she know?
Cam
@bobz:
Yes, because you know, thats the REAL issue here.